Will bump this for a little longer...
Come to the conclusion that I can live with this really ugly Stingray that smells a bit because we have a 15yr old boarder collie living in the house (might be a few stray dog hairs in the case) if I have to (hard life aint it?).
I could do more useful things with the money or with a P bass plus less money, however.....if I have to polish this bloody thing again i'm going to seal in in a vacuum bag, put it back in it's case, under the bed and forget I own it until 2023 at the earliest.
SS, you're welcome mate, to paraphrase a crap song 'my Ray is on fiiiurrrrh'